Overnight gains in Nasdaq Comp and Dow Jones saw the Sensex open with a wide positive gap of 18 points at 3,572.

The index touched a high of 3,597 in early morning deals. Buying in heavyweights, techs and select PSUs ensured that the index remained in positive zone through the session. Selling in noon trades in cement and pharma stocks, led by Dr Reddy's and Grasim, saw the index pare gains, and finally finish with a gain of 24 points at 3,578.

The Nifty remained steady through the session, and finally ended with gains of 11 points at 1,120.

While 16 Sensex stocks advanced, 14 declined today. The traded volume and value of the index scrips vaulted to 3.18 crore and Rs 741.60 crore, respectively.

Tech stocks ended on a buoyant note. Satyam surged 8% (Rs 13) to Rs 176 on sustained buying interest after its ADRs logged 5% gains on Wall Street yesterday. Infosys witnessed buying since early morning deals, and advanced 3% (Rs 90) to Rs 3,437. Over two lakh shares were traded on BSE with a turnover of Rs 69 crore. HCL Tech, too, traded in positive zone through the session, and gained 3% (Rs 5) to Rs 159.

Heavyweights also contributed to the Sensex gains today. HLL ended firm with a gain of 5% (Rs 8) at Rs 159. Over 10.85 lakh shares were traded on BSE with a turnover of Rs 17 crore. ITC added Rs 3 to Rs 726. Reliance, however, lacked buying support, and ended in the losers list at Rs 330 - down Rs 4.

PSU frontliners largely finished with gains. MTNL rose 4% (Rs 4) to Rs 104, and HPCL closed up a tad at Rs 328 on buying support. SBI, too, ended in the gainers list at Rs 398, up Rs 4. BHEL, however, succumbed to losses since early morning trades, and slipped 3% (Rs 7) to Rs 256.

Zee surged 6% (Rs 7) to Rs 119 on sustained buying interest. More than 56 lakh shares changed hands on BSE with a turnover of Rs 67 crore.

Hindalco and HDFC, however, slumped 2% each to Rs 775 (down Rs 18) and Rs 400 (down Rs 8), respectively. ICICI Bank closed down a tad at Rs 150.

Tisco, after reporting a 315% increase in net profit at Rs 267.07 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2003 as against Rs 64.21 crore in Q1FY03, closed up a rupee at Rs 187. Over 66 lakh shares changed hands on BSE with a turnover of Rs 123 crore.

Auto pivotals largely finished with gains. Bajaj, after trading in and out of positive zone, finished with a gain of 2% (Rs 11) at Rs 565. Telco moved up 3% (Rs 5) to Rs 213. Hero Honda, however, finished down a rupee at Rs 239.

Pharma and cement stocks lost ground on sustained selling pressure.

Dr. Reddy's slipped sharply in afternoon deals, and dropped 3% (Rs 33) to Rs 1,108. Cipla fell from higher levels on selling pressure to finish with a loss of 2% (Rs 13) at Rs 761. Ranbaxy, too, languished in negative territory, and dipped 2% (Rs 19) to Rs 800.

Glaxo, however, remained firm on buying support, and gained a per cent (Rs 5) to Rs 367.
Grasim declined 2% (Rs 12) to Rs 480. L&T, Gujarat Ambuja and ACC were down a rupee each at Rs 263, Rs 203 and Rs 166, respectively.

Tech stocks displayed mixed trends. Wipro moved up 3% (Rs 23) to Rs 924. i-flex clocked 2% gains (Rs 25) to Rs 1,262. While Hughes flared up 7% (Rs 20) to Rs 282, Mphasis closed up a per cent (Rs 4) at Rs 323. Digital, after touching a high of Rs 484, finished down a tad at Rs 458. Mastek, too, closed marginally lower at Rs 197.

VisualSoft, which posted a 22% increase in net profit at Rs 9.02 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2003 when compared with Rs 7.37 crore in Q1FY03, gained 2% (Rs 3) to Rs 150.

Vijaya Bank, which reported a 98% increase in net profit at Rs 80.90 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2003 as against Rs 40.77 crore in Q1FY03, advanced 7% to Rs 28.

Other bank stocks were divergent today. HDFC Bank and IOB dropped 5% each to Rs 255 (down Rs 14) and Rs 26, respectively. Corporation Bank was down 2% (down Rs 4) at Rs 172. PNB and BoB, however, logged 3% gains each at Rs 169 (up Rs 5) and Rs 128 (up Rs 4), respectively. While BoI moved up 2% at Rs 49, Kotak Bank closed up a per cent at Rs 182.

Media stocks ended firm today. Balaji advanced 9% (Rs 6) to Rs 70. Mukta Arts gained 3% to Rs 52. Padmalaya Telefilms, Sri Adhikari and Saregama closed up a per cent each at Rs 92, Rs 69 and Rs 54, respectively.

Maruti Udyog gained 4% (Rs 7) to Rs 175.

Bharti Tele-Ventures, which registered a profit of Rs 7 lakh in the first quarter ended June 30, 2003 when compared with a loss of Rs 76.20 crore in Q1FY03, slipped 4% (Rs 2) to Rs 43.